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HODIEDAH, May 14 (Saba)- Saudi authorities have impounded 13 fishing boats owned by Yemeni fishermen when they were in international waters of the Red Sea, security sources said on Friday.

The sources were quoted by the Security Information Center of Interior Ministry of Yemen as saying that the Saudi authorities impounded the fishing boats with the fishermen at a Saudi island and confiscated the contents and engines of the boats.

The Yemeni fishermen said to the information center that the Saudi authorities had deported them to Yemen through land, adding that their boats have been held by Saudi Arabia.

The security sources said Yemeni authorities are to follow the case to reveal all the details.

In recent years, many Yemeni fishing boats were seized by Yemen’s neighbors with fishermen onboard harassed. In 2009, dozens of Yemeni fishermen were released after Saudi, Sudanese and Eritrean authorities held their boats while fishing in the Red Sea.

The Eritrean authorities seized since 2006 until the first quarter of 2010 about 384 Yemeni fishing boats.

The boats cost US$4,500 and the seizures have left 3,799 Yemeni fishermen jobless. Most of the seizures took place while the boats were fishing in international waters.

Crews sometimes were arrested, taken to Eritrea and sent back after their boats and all properties onboard had been confiscated by the Eritrean.

The Yemeni Fishermen Cooperative Union has urged the government to intervene and contact the Eritrean authorities over releasing the Yemeni boats and other fishermen properties.

YA
Saba